From a molecules’ perspective – contributions of ancient DNA research to understanding cave bear biology

Abstract

Few members of the Pleistocene megafauna have been as extensively studied as cave bears. Multidisciplinary research into cave bears has provided insights into their morphology, ecology, and evolution. Genetic studies have profited from the availability of large numbers of well-preserved remains. As a result, ‘ancient DNA (aDNA)’ from cave bears has provided significant insights into cave bear ecology, phylogeography and even potential causes of their extinction. Here I review the contributions that genetic research has made to our understanding of cave bear biology and evaluate the potential that new, genomic tools provide to shed further light onto how these iconic representatives of the Pleistocene megafauna lived and died.

Keywords:

• Palaeogenetics
• cave bear phylogeography
• extinction dynamics
• palaeogenomics

Acknowledgements

The author is supported by a Rutherford Discovery Fellowship from the Royal Society of New Zealand (RDF-UOO1401). The author would like to thank Borja Figueirido and an anonymous reviewer for very helpful and constructive comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript.